Martin Luther King Celebration

Last Saturday Bill and I took 4 of our Young Travelers boys to the Marin Luther King Celebration at Jackson Community College. What a great night we had. There was a large crowd in the dining room and we sat at a table sponsored by Men of Merit.
Men of Merit is a group of young men at JCC who are encouraging young people to stay in school and get an education. The food was good and there was great music as well. The keynote speaker was a guy named Ken Brown. He has written two books about how he went from living on welfare to being a millionaire! What a great story!!
Megal wanted to meet him, so Bruce (men of merit member) grabbed the boys and took him to meet Ken. He gave them all a big hug, and gave them money to buy his book "Leap of Faith". They were pretty excited about that. We bought the books, and then took them to Ken to sign them. We had so much fun that night. The boys were great and I think they actually paid attention to the speaker. I was really proud of them, like they are my own kids!

Ashley's Snow Horse Sculpture

Last Friday, there was still a lot of snow on the ground. The kids still wanted to go out and play hide and seek, all except Ashley. She wanted to make Bill and I a snow horse sculpture. She did a great job!
Fridays continue to be a fun part of my week. I can let all the "business" of my life go and just sit down and play a game with my new ranch family. It's the best part of my week!

Chess/Checker Tournament

Last Saturday Bill and I took Megal and Dorrein to a chess/checker tournament hosted by our Mentoring Network at the King Center. It was to honor January as Mentoring Awareness month. It was a great day and had a lot of fun. It was more than just chess and checkers. We had lots of board games to play. A few of the kids I know from Kids Explosion came and that was fun. I hadn't seen them for a while. We played a game of Monopoly with them. Dorrein, Megal, Kathleen, and myself played a game of Chinese Checkers. The kids enjoyed that as well. It was just a great day just hanging around the King Center Playing games. Megal won the trophy and he was really excited. This Friday at the ranch, Charlie is going to bring his chess board and play chess with Megal. After the games, Hakim Crampton hosted an open poetry mic. That was really good. He is encouraging people to take the mic, and share their hearts. I took a few pictures, so take a look by clicking the link to the right called Chess/Checker Tournament.

Happy New Year

Friday we got a lot of snow, but that didn't stop the kids from coming. Our Friday night group is working on a few projects to put in our silent auction. Ashley 2's mom brought warm soup for dinner. It was great. Thanks Anne!!
After dinner, Chris, Dorrein, Amy, and I played spoons and I won!! The rest of the gang went out into the snowy night and played hide and seek. They keep finding new places to hide. The kids really enjoy that part of the night.
A new year has begun at the ranch. Gilbert, Ashley 1, and myself went to the barn to take care of the animals and captured "dinner time in the field". Take a look at a few pics by clicking the link to the right called, "Friday Y.T. 1-7-11".

Merry Christmas !

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from our family to yours! May God's love shine in our hearts and the spirit of the Christ child reign in us to motivate us to love all men the way He loves us!

Fun With Spoons

All the kids know that spoons is my favorite game. It can be a little dangerous, though. Last Friday was our last Friday Play Day for the year. Amy, Ashley, Ashley, and myself cooked dinner. Believe it! After dinner I made the kids stay inside for at least one game of spoons before they went out to play hide and seek. It got a little crazy as usual. HEATHER, we have found some competition for you with the "Junior Claw, Josh" Take a look at the pics by clicking the link to the right called, Fun with spoons.

Fun With Pictures

This Friday the kids took my camera and decided to take some silly pictures. Megal was fascinated with the birds sitting on the barn and in the trees. We had pizza and as always, the kids went outside after dinner to play hide & seek. It has become a tradition and they want to do it even in the snow. These kids really know how to have fun. Take a look at the pics by clicking the link to the right, "Fun with Pictures" 12/10/10